Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Numbers for stockings new pond

I called the local Co-op today to see when the fish truck would be coming, it's going to be here tomorrow!!! (And might not be back until Fall) I wasn't really ready to stock, but am thinking about getting some fish now while I can.

My pond is .36 acre, will eventually be 7'-8' deep, and is about half full. The bottom slopes to deep holes on the dam side so part of the bottom is already 4' deep. The water level is stable and going up with every rain so I'm not too worried about it dropping off real bad this Summer. The water is somewhat muddy, but not terribly so. (Grass is not well established on the banks yet)

There is a smaller forage pond 50 yards below the main one. It will eventually be 5' deep but doesn't have enough water in it yet for fish. I talked to the company that is sending the fish truck tomorrow and they recommended catfish, bluegill (hybrid and/or coppernose) and fatheads tomorrow. They recommended not putting any bass at all in a pond this small, but said if I was going to stock them anyways to wait until Fall. I want redears but there won't be any on the truck tomorrow.

I was thinking about tomorrow getting 2 lbs. of fatheads, 15 or so channel cats, and 50 coppernose to start. Will it be ok to put these fish in now? If so I would stock more of the same species this fall in addition to some LMB, RES, and more fatheads in both the main pond and forage pond. There are no fish at all in the pond now, just a few bugs and frogs.

Here's a pic of the pond ... the water level is about a foot higher now than in this pic, and there is now some grass on the banks:

Eric,

I will let the 'smarder-than-me folks address your issue, however, from someone who just killed off a pond of Hybrid BG...go with native BG or CNBG instead. HBG lead to problems. You can search and find lots of threads on this issue.

Just my 2 cents.

Best of luck on your new pond.

Gator

Are you going to feed them and has the pond developed plankton yet? All those small fish will need to eat. It may be ok but a real new muddy pond could be short on food for new fish. What is the visibility of the water? I would try it just to see what happens.

I think your #s and types CC ,BG and FH are good assuming you are getting small (2in) fish. If you are in North Tenn. and have any elevation go with regular BG not CNBG and not HBG. CNBG are a deep south subspecies and HBG are IMO for certain situations. If no regular BG are available then go with the CNBG . Good luck and let us know what happens.

Gator, I thought you just got GG HBG for a pond. Did something happen or do you mean dont mix with regular BG?

Thanks a bunch for the info. I'm really leaning towards getting a few fish tomorrow even though the pond isn't ready. I wanted native bluegill (the fish farm called them "wild" bluegill today) but they aren't on the truck, so CNBG was my 2nd choice.

I don't plan to feed them for now, but there is a little green plankton swirl around the edges of the water in places. The visibility of the water is poor, especially in the days after a rain. It should get better as more and more grass establishes on the banks. I'm in North Central Tennessee (almost in Kentucky) on top of the Cumberland Plateau. It is somewhat elevated here, with a little cooler climate than further South and Western TN.

Eric, I would be concerned about stocking at this time. It looks pretty muddy from the picture. No way to get a plankton bloom without sunlight penetration. More rain will make it worse. You will have to feed. I think you need to exercise patience.

However, gotta admit; if I had a new water hole, there is no way I could resist putting in some fish. But then, I am lacking in both patience and character. The worst that will happen is that they will not do well and possibly die.

Burger,

Yes, good point. I have a small pond stocked with GG's. However, it is a very different stocking program with different goals. Based on Eric's plan to add LMB - I assumed he is not looking for a fishing pond for Bluegill. I will need to see the results on GGs before making a recommendation on that program.

My comments were based off of a similar situation I experienced (fish truck selling HBG) stocking HBG, LMB in a small pond. I ended up with 1 LMB and 6 medium sized HBG in the pond. I transfered the LMB to my big pond and killed off the HBG. I caught that poor LMB over and over until we were both sick of each other. : )

Gator

Gator- do you ever keep fish in your cement pond? I have one and have been thinking about a good winter useage. You have a LMB that does not get hook-shy? You should charge a large price for milt!

Think I'm going to chance the stocking, with at least the fatheads and cats. Cats can do well in stained water and the fatheads are just forage anyways. Not sure about the CNBG yet ... I'll think about it over the next few hours and probably won't decide until standing next to the fish truck

The purpose of the pond is for general fishing with the kids and friends, and we might swim in it from time to time. We don't live on this land but it's near our house and we will probably build out there in a few years. The pond is not big enough to do great things with, but I would like to be able to catch largemouth of a few pounds and have a good variety of fish to play with. We will eat enough fish to keep the pond in balance.

I would have made the pond bigger but the watershed above wouldn't be enough to feed it, and other places on the property were not good pond sites. I admit to a little envy of these huge ponds some of yall have

Hey PFF - my "cement pond" is here in the city, in my back yard. 'Bout the only thing is gets full of, is KIDS!

I felt sorry for that lonely LMB. She must have eaten all of her offsping and potential mates. I would occasionally go by and snag her just to see what shape she was in...last summer she got skinny during the drought so I put her in the big pond. She would strike at darn near anything.

Eric, I would have to toss in something too were it me. CC seems like a good idea (to me). You can feed them and have a little fun waiting for your pond to clear.

Gator

Well I just got back from the pond. I ended up putting in a big bag of fatheads, 25 channel cats, and 25 coppernose BG. The cats were triple bagged, the others in single bags. Not that much fish, but I didn't want to get too ahead of myself with a half full, somewhat muddy pond. The water is clearing up some and it doesn't look too bad now.

I didn't have much time so I left the bags in the water just 15 minutes before opening them. The fatheads came out first and immediately darted for the shoreline trying to hide under rocks, blades of grass, anything they could find. A few of them "beached" and I tossed them into deeper water. The cats were next and they all rocketed to the deep end of the pond and I didn't see them again. The coppernoses all sat in a huddle for a couple minutes in 6" of water before dispersing. Within 5 minutes the coppernoses and fatheads were popping bugs on the surface.

I talked to one of the guys working the truck and he said they will not be back in this area until Fall, partially because business is so good in Texas they are spending most of their time there and selling out the truck on every trip He encouraged feeding, starting after 4 days or so. It seemed like just about everyone buying at the truck was getting grass carp, and a lot of people were getting CC and fatheads also. I didn't see a single person buying bass, interesting.

Good for you Eric. It was fun I bet !! Might be a good idea to feed them a little at least until the pond gets enough plankton. All 3 of those species like pellets. BTW the small yoy LMB are not ready yet - not time to add them anyway. Did the truck have any LMB and if so what size?

The truck & fish farm are based out of Arkansas, and they did have largemouth today. I don't remember what size fish, but they were 80 cents apiece.

Wonder why business is so good in Texas right now? Maybe alot of folks took advantage of the severe drought to overhaul their ponds?

Eric, I know in years past there have been more than one fish truck running thru our Co-op. Seems like there was at least one a month from late Feb til October. You might check back with the Co-op from time to time if you want something before fall.


Congrats on your first fish. Looks like it will be a pretty little spot.

Eric,

Portland is actually on the Highland Rim. The Cumberland Plateau is about 40 miles east of Portland. Be glad of it. Your soils are much better. Portland grows much better deer.

Hillbilly